DJ Clay is a 35 year old producer, DJ & rapper from Detroit, Michigan whom the Insane Clown Posse signed to Psychopathic Records back in 2007. The man has released a handful of mixtapes since the mid-2000s but since recently starting up his very own label Armed Robbery Entertainment, he’s finally stepping out with his full-length debut album.
The album kicks off with “Over Fear”, where Clay talks about rising above his frights over a nocturnal trap beat. The next song “Fax” gets into battle mode over a boom bap beat with some plinky keyboards while the track “Don’t Quote Me” finds Clay totally snapping over a grimy trap beat. The song “Everybody” talks about his haters over a trap beat with a Godly atmosphere while the track “Apologies” finds Clay saying sorry for a number of things over a somber trap beat.
The song “Eyes Clozd” finds Clay talking to a therapist over a trap beat some alluring keyboards while the track “Just Like You” talks about being him over a very dynamic instrumental that switches up countless times. The song “Tear Up” is an aggressive club banger with a haunting synth-like & some skittering snares while the track “Running” tells the vivid story of a criminal over a horror-esque trap beat.
The song “Yeah Bro” is talks about wildin out over a grimy trap beat & a Three 6 Mafia inspired hook for a minute & a half while the track “Got It Wrong” talks about those who thought he was quiet over an atmospheric beat with some rubbery bass. The song “Fade Away” is an interesting trap rock ballad & then the album ends with “Numb”, where Clay talks about his success over a trap beat with some luscious piano chords.
If anyone wants to hear a talented DJ showing off his rapping abilities, then PLEASE give this a listen. Could’ve used a couple features to breakup the monotony, but his pen game is solid & the production goes absolutely HARD!
Ouija Macc is a rapper from Las Vegas, Nevada who came up as the latest signee to the Insane Clown Posse’s label that runs beneath the streets Psychopathic Records in 2017. He made a pretty solid debut last May with Gutterwater, following it up not too long after 2 mixtapes: Waterdamage & 50 Shades of Dead. However to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of his debut, he’s continuing his grind with his 3rd mixtape & longtime collaborator Devereaux producing it in it’s entirety.
The album kicks off with “Controller 17,” where Ouija is dissing an unknown rapper over an eerie beat. The next track “Infinight” talks about shooting out the sun over a druggy trap beat while the song “Lil Monster” gets murderous over a nocturnal trap beat. The track “1700 MPH” has a decent beat, but I love how Ouija disses his haters & that he speeds up his flow during the hook. The song “Dead Diary” is a horrific trap metal fusion & while the track “Randall’s Law” gets murderous, it sounds unfinished. The song “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” continues the lyrical themes of the previous cut over a haunting trap beat & while the track “Hater Exterminator” pretty much speaks for itself over an ominous trap beat, the hook is annoying.
The song “Gary in the Gravedigger” talks about hustling over an alluring trap beat while the track “Benz Boys” with R I L E Y showcases a pretty decent chemistry between the 2 over a Halloween-esque trap beat. The song “Friends” talks about being lonesome over bass-heavy trap beat with a haunting bell throughout while the track “Toxic Nephilim” talks about being a heathen over an atmospheric beat. The song “Jujitsu” gets boastful over a moody beat while the track “Error 404” is a short yet catchy banger where Ouija continues to brag. The song “Sonar Sizzle” talks about the things he’s seen over the course of his life over a somber beat & then “Chaos Spell” is an adrenaline pumping way to close out the tape.
This was a major improvement over Ouija’s last 2 tapes & it’s on par with Gutterwater for his magnum opus. Devereaux’s producer tags can get annoying after a while as they’re placed on every single track, but his chemistry with Ouija is stronger than ever on this one & I like how they kept features to a minimum. It’s not for everyone though, as they continue to put an old fashioned horrorcore spin on the trap sound that’s ever so popular right now.
The Insane Clown Posse are a Detroit horrorcore duo, the founders of Juggalo Championship Wrestling & the longest reigning 2-time JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions consisting of JCW Commissioner Violent J & the shortest reigning JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion Shaggy 2 Dope. They’ve been at it since the very late 80’s & through their own label Psychopathic Records, the 2 have managed to become independent titans. The last we heard from J & Shaggy in a full-length capacity was in 2015 withThe Marvelous Missing Linkdouble disc set which has been regarded as the weakest Card of the 2nd Deck but almost 4 years later, they’re returning with their 15th full-length album.
As with every album in the duo’s Dark Carnival mythology, the intro & the first song “Red Fred” serve as an introduction to the album’s titular character. The track “Fury!” is all about fighting back & not only do the verses make you feel like the adrenaline is starting to flow inside, but so does the MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 & Str8jaket production. The song “West Vernor Ave.” is a Shaggy solo cut that pays tribute to the titular street in downtown Detroit while the track “W.T.F.! (What The Fuck!)” talks about the problems of the world today over a chaotic beat.
The song “Satellite” sees the 2 is an empowerment anthem with a spacious beat referencing former 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, FTW Champion, ECW World Television Champion, 3-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion,NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン & the longest reigning XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu while the track “Seriously Hilarious” gets murderous over a haunting beat dissing their former protégés & Majik Ninja Entertainment founders Twiztid. The song “Game Over” sees J making fun of gamers over a trap beat with an AMAZING Super Mario sample thanks to Devereaux throughout while “Night of Redrum” nocturnally continues their acclaimed “Night of” series.
The song “Low” is mostly a take on the classic Zombies joint “Time of the Season” including a reference to the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan while the song “TripleX” is a clever tale taking place in a therapy session over a demented beat. The song “Nobody’s Fault” is a painfully corny emo rap cut while the song “Hot Head” is a boring, sluggish angst anthem. The song “Shimmer” is a guitar ballad to God showing the Duke of the Wicked’s storytelling abilities while the track “Freedom” sees J & Shaggy talking about just that over an uplifting beat. After the “Beware!” interlude, the closer “I Like It Rough” is a disgusting sex tune (not in a good way either) with a bland trap beat.
After the intro of the Flip the Rat bonus disc, “A Face 4 Fighting” starts the deluxe run with Violent J wickedly expressing his love for engaging in fights if shit gets ignited & Shaggy returns on “Fight Back” produced by DJ Paul talking about nobody wanting smoke with them over hi-hats & bells. “Revenge” goes for an futuristic trap vibe with the help of Mike P. making room for them warning that you’re never safe when they’re hunting for you prior to “I’m That Type” featuring Psychopathic’s biggest solo act Ouija Macc finds him & his mentors talking about the scrub life over a rap rock/trap mix.
Another artist on the Psychopathic roster Big Hoodoo join the clowns on “Hungry” to talk their desire for more paper & Brian Kuma giving it a trap flare generally while “Splish Splash” again brings Violent J’s storytelling abilities in the fold portraying a man whose house is 85% baths. “Friend Request” samples “100 Miles & Runnin'” by the N.W.A with J & 2 Dope poking fun at the concept of sending friend requests on the Meta Platforms-owned Facebook while “I Could Never” is another trap cut showing a more religious side to the Duke.
“Hawking” reaches the backend of Flip the Rat satirizing absurdism & conspiracy theories as the wicked clowns trading bars back-&-forth with each other sampling “Kiss” by the late Prince while “Tha Dogg” samples “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains venting Violent J’s frustration of being treated like a bad dog, calling back to the familiar theme in ICP’s music of being outcasted. “Be Safe” concludes the collection of a dozen bonus tracks with both Shaggy & J playfully telling the juggalos to watch your step & take it easy.
I was legitimately excited going into this after I got to see them film the “Fury!” video at my uncle’s store back in October but now that it’s here, this thing absolutely shits onThe Marvelous Missing Link. Other than a small handful of skippers, I appreciate it for going back to a darker sound & featuring around themes of standing up for yourself, fighting back against injustice, & having self-respect making Fred embody this “fight back” mentality. Sucks that the MNE/PSY fallout happened due toYoung Wickedofthe Axe Murder Boyzsigned to MNE after he was having an affair with J’s niece as someone who grew up in Michigan at a time where Psychopathic was a roster full of artists, but it certainly made the clowns sound the angriest they’ve been a while.
This is the 4th studio LP from Detroit, Michigan emcee Big Hoodoo. Originally coming up as Doe Dubbla. Under that original moniker, he put out a double-disc full-length debut in 2008 called Stack’n & later followed it up with Hiatus in 2012. However it wouldn’t be until 2013 when Dubbla signed Psychopathic Records, put out his 3rd album Crystal Skull that summer & became the black magic practitioner that he is today. 3 years later, he’s taking y’all through the asylum.
After a 2 minute intro, we finally get into the first song with the title track. Here, Hoodoo gets confrontational over a haunting instrumental. The next song “Runnin’ from My Magic” telling the listener to witness his illumination over some creepy keys & a super funky bass-line. Also, the Mystikal nod at the beginning of the first verse was really cool. The next 2 songs “I Bring Death” & “The Yard” get murderous over eerie beats, but I think the first one does a better job at it minus the nasal hook from Young Wicked.
Then on “Out My Mind”, he talks about insanity over a semi-druggy instrumental. Also, the line about a hoe telling him his jizz was delicious at the beginning of the final verse was pretty hilarious to me. The track “Boom Boom Piggy” disses crooked cops over a menacing instrumental & the song “Go Get ‘Em” sees Tha Hav Knots angrily attacking at their enemies with an instrumental & hook that will get you in the mood to fight. The track “Calm Down” may have uplifting instrumental, but everything else about it is just alright outside of that.
“Monster Squad” with Anybody Killa, the Axe Murder Boyz, DJ Paul & the Insane Clown Posse is a gritty Psychopathic posse cut with a haunting instrumental while “Psycho Love” is a predictable Bonnie & Clyde-esque love song, it’s not that bad. The song “Shadows” talks about the end coming over an eerie instrumental & then the penultimate track “I’ve Seen Pain” vents about the world of sin over a sinister instrumental.
The album then closes with “The Passage, where Hoodoo & Blac gets ambitious over some keys. However, Blac didn’t really captivate me & it didn’t need to be 9 minutes long. Honestly, this was an improvement over Big Hoodoo’s debut. It sounds a lot more darker & Hoodoo really improves himself as an MC.
DJ Clay is a 35 year old producer, DJ & rapper from Detroit, Michigan whom the Insane Clown Posse signed to Psychopathic Records back in 2007. The man has released a handful of mixtapes since the mid-2000s but since recently starting up his very own label Armed Robbery Entertainment, he’s finally stepping out with his full-length debut album.
